Stimulus complexity shapes response correlations in primary visual cortex.

ABSTRACT: Spike count correlations (SCCs) are ubiquitous in sensory cortices, are characterized by rich structure, and arise from structured internal dynamics. However, most theories of visual perception treat contributions of neurons to the representation of stimuli independently and focus on mean responses. Here, we argue that, in a functional model of visual perception, featuring probabilistic inference over a hierarchy of features, inferences about high-level features modulate inferences about low-level features ultimately introducing structured internal dynamics and patterns in SCCs. Specifically, high-level inferences for complex stimuli establish the local context in which neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) interpret stimuli. Since the local context differentially affects multiple neur

SUBMITTER: Banyai M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6377442 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature